For the most part, the Cleveland Cavaliers have usually been patient with their rookies, especially those taken outside of the lottery. That may not be the case this season if Meleek Thomas continues to play this way.
The rookie out of Arkansas looked like a borderline first-round pick for most of the pre-draft process. He fell to the Cavs' laps at No. 34, and it didn't take long before he made them look like geniuses for rolling the dice on him.
Thomas has been the best player in the Summer League so far, and while this point in the offseason should always be taken with a grain of salt, he might make the Cavs feel comfortable parting ways with Max Strus or Sam Merrill if he keeps this up.
Meleek Thomas might push Max Strus or Sam Merrill out the door in Cleveland
The Cavs have the financial flexibility to sign LeBron James and bring back James Harden, but they don't have that much wiggle room to make more moves. So, if Thomas proves to be as NBA-ready as he looks right now, they could clean some cash off their books by parting ways with one of the veterans.
So far, Thomas has looked the part. He's led all players in scoring, showing that playing next to Darius Acuff Jr. and under Jon Calipari didn't do him many favors with the Razorbacks. He's been a walking bucket on and off the ball, and he's showing that he can put the ball on the floor and be the team's primary facilitator.
Thomas dropped 35 points in 14-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. It was his second consecutive 30-point game, and he's up to 28.3 points per game on 50/46/100 shooting splits through the first three games.
Again, the Summer League isn't anything like the NBA. He's not going against NBA-caliber competition, at least not entirely. That said, the tape doesn't lie, and his game clearly translates to what Kenny Atkinson's team needs.
He can play on and off the ball, and while he won't provide the same defensive punch that Strus or this version of Merrill can give, he can force his way to the court with this type of lights-out shooting. The Cavs need a reliable backup point guard, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him beat Tyrese Proctor, Dennis Schroder, and Craig Porter Jr. for those minutes if he keeps this up.
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